Is Burke the right man for Leafs?
BY DEREK CARSON - FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The second half of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season is underway and as we are at the All-Star break, our teams have some soul searching to do.
In a seven-part series, I will present the burning question that will be keeping the players and fans of their favourite Canadian team up at night. Today I look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and wonder whether Brian Burke is still the right man to run the franchise?
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The Leafs started out strong this year. At the beginning of November they were leading the Northeast division and were second in the Eastern Conference. But similar to the Edmonton Oilers (though not as bad) they have fallen in the standings to the point where a playoff spot is far from certain.
There's still a lot of time left in the season, but the team has stalled recently. Phil Kessel has just two goals in his last eight games, James Reimer hasn't performed very well since coming back from his concussion, the team's penalty kill is last in the league and Tim Connolly, Brian Burke's big name free agent acquisition this offseason, has missed more than ten games so far this year.
To top it all off, Burke gave Ron Wilson a contract extension despite the head coach's inability to get Toronto to the playoffs for the past three years. Both Burke and Wilson have been with the club since the 2008-2009 season and neither has given Leafs Nation what they're looking for: a contender. In fact, under Burke and Wilson, the Leafs have only gotten worse, going from a playoff bubble team to finishing in the bottom 10.
Right now, Leafs fans everywhere have to be questioning whether they really found the right man for the job back in November of 2008.
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